Chapter 6 - Sea cucumbers mariculture

Abstract

Sea cucumber fisheries have a long history of exploitation, driven by the high value of sea cucumbers in Asian markets. Overfishing of sea cucumbers together with poor fisheries management has led to a severe decrease in the commercial sea cucumber populations worldwide. Consequently, there is a growing interest in sea cucumber aquaculture to satisfy demand and assuage stock decline. Sea cucumber farming demonstrates high feasibility due to the production ease and low cost as well as high market income. Moreover, sea cucumbers are excellent candidates for the integrated multi-trophic aquaculture due to their feeding strategy and position in the food chain. Sea cucumbers were successfully integrated with finfish, crustaceans, molluscs and seaweed. They were also successfully cultured in many aquaculture systems with other species, including cages, ponds and the recirculating aquaculture system. Here we summarise the standard culture techniques for six newly introduced sea cucumber species: Holothuria tubulosa, Holothuria poli, Stichopus horrens, Holothuria arguinensis, Holothuria leucospilota and Holothuria mammata.